Fire-escape ladder



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

R.u F, l181811)BWELL.

Y Y FIREESGAPE LADDER. i No. 258,884.` Patented Mar. 28,1882.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

' R. F. BRIDEWELL.

PIRE ESGABE LADDER.

No. 255,584. f Patented Mar. 28,1882.'

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(NdModel.)

` R. F. BRIDBWELL.

FIRE ESCAPE LADDER.

i Patented Mar; 28, 1882.

NA PETERS, mammography. wmmpon. u. c,

"VII

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD F. BRIDEWELL, OF SAN' FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

FIRE-ESCAPE LADDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 255,584, dated March2,8, 1882, Application tiled December' 19, 1881. (No model.) u

.scription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it pertains to make and use it, reference beinghad to theaccompanying drawings, which form part of this specilication.

My invention relates to an improvement in lire-escape ladders; and itconsists, iirst, in pivoting the ladder to the truck and attaching tothe end of the ladder a mechanism, substantially as hereinafterdescribed, for assisting to raise the ladder into position; second, inpivoting thc ladder to the truck within a wheel, by means of which theladder can be partially1 revolved, so that after the ladder has beenraised into position it can be inclined toward either side ofthe truck;third, in pivoting the ladder to l[he truck within the Wheel, by meansof which the ladder partially rotales, and securing in the end of theladder a chamber for holding compressed air, inside of which chamber isplaced a cylinder and piston, which assist in raising the ladder intoposition,allof which will be more fullydescrihed hereinafter.

The object ot my-invention is to enable the ladders to' be raisedquickly and easily1 from the truck against a house, and to enable themto be inclined toward either side ofthe street.

Figure l is a side elevation of my invention, showing the ladder and itsattachments in one position in solid lines and in a raised position indotted lines. Fig. 2 is a plan View ot the` truck and the operatingmechanism. Fig. 3 is a front end View of the ladder, showing it in araised position; and Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views.

A represents the truck, which is provided with four driving-wheels, therear ones of which track the front ones asthe truck is drawn along bymeans ot' horses or by any other suitable means. This truck is made intwo parts, which are pivoted togel her at theirinner ends, as shown inFigs. 1 and 2, so as to enable corners to he easily turned. Upon thefront end of the front portion of the truck are secured suitablestandards, C, and extending backward from these standards aresuitable'braces, D. These brace the frame-work, upon which theladdersare placed rigidlyinline Witheach other, but do not in any wayinterfere with the Work ofthe running-gear ot" the truck. ln the frontend ot' the truck thehounds Eare made curved, as shown in Fig. 2, so asto form an oval frame, in the center ot' which is pivoted the wheel F,which has an opening, G, made through one side, so that the l'ront endot' the ladder can pass directly through it. This Wheel is placed upon apivot, H, which is stviveled in position in any suitable manner, so asto turn with the Wheel when the Wheel is moved by means of the pinion I,which meshes with the Wheel at one side. This pinion I is operatedbymeans of a small crank, and is provided with a spring dog or catch ofany kind,whichwill hold itinto any position into which it may beadjusted. Upon each side ot' the opening which is made through the wheelat` the outer corners are formed suitable ilanges, ears, or projections,so as to allow the upper end ot' the piston to be pivoted between them.

The ladder L is placed upon the truck so as to rest upon its edge only,and its lower end passed through the opening which is made in the topportion ofthe wheel, as shownl in Fig. 1. To the under side ofthe ladderis secured a suitable casting, M, which projects down and is pivoted tothe swiveled pivot upon which the wheel is secured. This casting servesas a hinge, by means ot' which the ladder can be raised into a verticalposition, and as the pivot revolves with the wheel it will readily beseen that after the ladder has been raised it can be inclined towardeither side ofthe truck by simply operating the pinion 1in such aInanner as to cause the Wheel to turn in the re quired direction.Although only a single ladder is here shown, it is intended to use twoormore sections of ladders connected together, so that in case thelowersection should not be long enough to'reach the upper portions ot'the burning building the second section can be extended beyond the loweronein the usual manner.

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between the front ends of the ladder and has no movement of its own; butwhen the valve Q is operated, so as to allow the compressed air to enterthe cylinder, the air'bears against the inner end of the piston andexerts its whole power against it. The pivot or hinge upon which theladder turns being placed below the point at which the outer end ot' thepiston is pivoted, when a slight downward pressure is exerted upon thefront end ot' the ladder the whole force ot' the compressed air operatesto force the piston out of the cylinder, and in forcing against the endof this piston the whole force ofthe air is exerted in raising theladder upward. Ot' course the greater the pressure of the compressed airthe less pressure there will have to be exerted by the operator upon theladder to raise it into position. cylinder is large enough to hold aboutsix thousand cubic inches and the ladder is not more than aboutforty-tive or fty feet long, so little pressure is required to start theladder and raise it into position that a single man or boy canrun uptheladderinafewseconds. Then by operating the pinion the ladder can beinclined so as to bear against the side of the house. It is notnecessary to back the truck into position, for when the truck is run upalongside of the curbstone it is ready to have the ladder raised atonce. Should the ladder not be directly in front of the window to whichit is desired to run it, the truck has only to be moved either backwardor forward, as will be necessary to bring the ladder exactly intoposition. To any suitable portion ot' the rear part ot' the truck issecured a small windlass, L, so that by winding up the rope U, which isfastened to the windlass at one end and to the raised ladder at theother, the ladder can be drawn down into a horizontal position upon thetruck, asin the tirst instance. As the ladder is gradually drawndownward the air-chamber is raised upward, andthe gradual approach tothe point at which the piston is pivoted forces the piston back into thecylinder and forces the air out of the cylinder into the chamber again.ladder remains securely in position until the valve is again openedandadownward pressure exerted upon the front end ofthe ladder.

Where the t The valve is then closed and the The great object gained bythis invention is not only in the saving of time in running the ladderup against the house, but in the amount of power and men necessary toaccomplish this. The great pressure of the air completes the movementwhich has been started by the operator, and thereis nothing more for himto do than to give the ladder the necessary inclination. lt will thus beseen that the man who drives the truck is all that is necessary to eachset of ladders.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. The combination ofatruck, aladder which is pivoted or hinged to a swiveled pivot, and amechanism, substantially as shown, for inclining the ladder after it hasbeen raised to a vertical position, substantially as described.

2. The combination ofa truck, aladder which is pivoted or hinged toaswiveled pivot, a wheel on said pivot having an opening through its topfor the ladder to pass through, and a pin' ion for turning the wheel,whereby the ladder can be inclined toward either side of the truck byturningthe pinion, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination ot'a truck, aladder which is pivoted to a swiveiedpivot, a mechanism for inclining the ladder, and mechanism,substantially as herein described, which is secured to the end of theladder for assisting to raise the ladder into position, substantially asspecified.

4. The combination ot' a truck, a mechanism,

Substantially as here shown, for inclining the 4 ladder after it israised, a ladder which is pivoted so as to be raised from a horizontalto a vertical position, a chamber containing compressed air and having acylinder placed inside of it, a piston which is placed inside of thecylinder, and a valve for controlling the ilow of the air to the piston,substantially as shown.

5. The combination of the truck, a ladder which is pivoted to a swiveledpivot, a mech,

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anism, substantially as described, for inclin- RICHARD F. BRIDEWELL.

Vitnesses:

JOHN WHITE, JOHN E. HAMILL.

ICS

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